Legal battle over land ownership halts Ditsobotla’s gravesite construction project

An agitated Evodia Molautsi, 61, with the help of her lawyers, has been able to halt the building of a new gravesite in Itsoseng, Lichtenburg, by the cash-strapped Ditsobotla local municipality.

Molautsi has alleged that the North West municipality is grabbing her family’s land. The farm is known as De Hoop 51. Erection of the gravesite commenced in 2018. While no person has been buried, it is fenced.

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“The people saw an open space. They just appeared from nowhere. Through lawyers we were able to halt them from continuing with building the gravesite inside my yard,” Molautsi said.

Health hazard

The land earmarked “gets overflooded during heavy rains, so there is a potential health hazard to our client if people are buried just a few metres from her homestead as a result of encroachment”, court papers read.

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“We instruct the municipality to remove a portion of the gravesite fence that is protruding on our client’s property.”

In 1936, the Mojaki family’s land was taken away from them by the government which, in 1978, offered it back. Benjamin Mojaki bought back the land.

According to Molautsi, due to the change of government to Bophuthatswana, the deed was never registered.

“We’ve been fighting tooth and nail with the municipality since 2018,” she said.

“When my father bought the farm in 1978, it was registered under the deeds office under the Union of the Republic of South Africa. There was confusion, as Bophuthatswana was given responsibilities to deal with land issues and our land was not captured into the system.”

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Molautsi claims her family has been fighting to get the land back through the department of agriculture and land reform for several years. She alleges that the land covers 2 789 hectares.

“I believe there are officials who are bribed with others showing unbecoming behaviour. I have taken this matter as far as to the office of the relevant MEC. Our pain is their gain.”

Ditsobotla says land was donated

Ditsobotla local municipality spokesperson Pius Batsile claims the land was donated by the Kopano Trust Authority.

This was dismissed by Molautsi, who suggested: “The municipality came to the wrong location”, but added the family was keen to sell land.

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“We are socially responsible people,” she said.